La Liga 2021/22 Matchweek 1 betting picks & top value bets

Spanish top-flight football returns this Friday as Valencia and Getafe kick off the Matchweek 1 of the 2021/22 La Liga season. We’ve got Atletico Madrid’s first game on our list of best bets on this weekend’s La Liga card.

Real Madrid vs Deportivo Alaves

Sure, we could bet on Real Madrid to win outright over Alaves, but that comes at a price of -227. And many Real Madrid wins feature a goal from the electric Karim Benzema. The French striker has scored at least 21 goals in each of his last three seasons for Real and has scored four goals in his last five matches against Alaves. Look for Benzema to make an early mark on the season with a goal or two in this contest.

Celta Vigo vs Atletico Madrid

Outside of Barcelona vs Real Sociedad, Celta Vigo vs Atletico Madrid might be the best match of the weekend. These two clubs have played to a draw in three of their last four meetings, with the one exception to that rule coming in a 2-0 road victory for Madrid in 2020. Celta Vigo made an impressive jump up to eighth on La Liga table with a 14-11-13 record after back-to-back 17th-place finishes in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

This should be another competitive game on Sunday and a draw (+235) is a very realistic result. But it’s difficult to pass up on a team of Atletico Madrid’s quality getting a nice price at -110; this club is coming off of a dominant 26-8-4 campaign and should be up to the task of passing this road test to open its championship defense with a win.

Villarreal vs Granada

Villarreal’s last loss to Granada came all the way back in 2014 on the road. Granada has lost six of its last 10 games to Villarreal and settled for draws in the other four games over that stretch. These two clubs also appear to be trending in different directions; Villarreal is carrying some momentum into this season after winning the UEFA Europa League in 2021 and signing Senegalese forward Boulaye Dia.

Granada lost goalkeeper Rui Silva and last year’s top scorer Roberto Soldado this offseason. It also didn’t do enough to address a defense that finished worst in La Liga in goals against last season conceding 65 goals in 38 matches. This club will have trouble staying in the top half of the table this season and will very likely start its season off with a loss in this spot.